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2nd Tsarskoye Selo Life Guards Rifle Regiment
|name = 2nd Life Guards Rifle Regiment|branch = |allegiance = Tsar of Russia|dates = 1856—1918 1919—1921|role = Infantry|size = Battalion Later 5 battalions|command_structure = Life Guards|patron = St. Sergius of Radonezh the Wonderworker|motto = "In remembrance of the exploits of the Guards"}} The 2nd (Tsarskoye Selo) Life Guards Rifle Regiment was a former Life Guards regiment of the Russian Empire. History The 2nd Life Guards Regiment was formed in 1856 from companies of the other guards regiments. The regiment was formed as follows: * 1st Company - From Moscow Life Guards Regiment * 2nd Company - From Grenadier Life Guards Regiment * 3rd Company - From Finnish Life Guards Regiment * 4th Company - From Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment By 1857 the regiment was renamed as the Tsarskoye Selo Life Guards Infantry Battalion. January Uprising During the January Uprising, the regiment participated in the suppression of the uprising as part of the 3rd Guards Infantry Division. In 1870 the regiment was transferred from the 3rd Guards Rifle Division to the new formed Guards Rifle Brigade. In 1871 the regiment was renamed as the 2nd Life Guards Rifle Battalion. By 1910 the regiment was renamed as the 2nd Tsarskoye Selo Life Guards Rifle Regiment. Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The regiment saw service during the war as part of the Guards Rifle Brigade and saw their first battle at an unknown battefield where they held off Turkish attackers for a whole day, as a result 19 Crosses of the 4th Degree of the Military Order were granted to members of the battalion were awarded. The regiment later saw service at the Siege of Plevna and again, the regiment was awarded 8 Crosses of the Military Order. In November the regiment took part in the taking of the strategically important Vrachesh Pass. The pass was one of the five major approaches to the Bulgarian Capital of Sofia. In late November the regiment was involved in a heavy battle near the village of Arab-Konak where another 15 Military Crosses were awarded. In December the regiment saw battle another three times; 19th at Tashkis, 21st at Vrazchdebna and on the 23rd during the Battle of Sofia. The regiment's last battle during the war was during the battle of Phippopol. World War I When the Imperial Russian Army was mobilised just as World War I started, the regiment formed a reserve battalion and formed as the 2nd Guards Reserve Rifle Regiment. Upon mobilisation the regiment was immediately sent to the front where they saw service during the Russian invasion of East Prussia and later at the fatal Battle of Tannenberg and later near the village of Kozin. The regiment later saw service around the following villages: Opat (20th), Sandomir (21st), Polichno (Oct 13-16th) and finally Belina Kapitulna (Oct 19th). In November 1914 the regiment saw battles at the following: 5th-18th (Battle of Kraków), Poreba (11th) and later rear-guard defences in late November. In 1915 the regiment later saw battle at the following: Rudka Skroda (Feb 2), Vysoké-Duzhe (Mar 8th-11th), Krasnostav (July 7), Sennitsa Korolevskaya (7th), Myshagol (Aug 15th), Oseniki (29th-30th), Krevo Defence (September), Stokhod (17th), Porsk (9th-16th Oct), and finally Square Forest (21st). During 1917 the regiment saw little service at: Zvinyache-Tereshkovetsky (Jan 5th), Dzik (June 21–26), Lansk (July 2-9th), and finally the last battle of the regiment at Zbruch (July 14 - August 8). During the war, a Russian regiment (including the 2nd) had the following structure: * Regimental Headquarters ** Regimental Band * Communications Detachment * Scout Detachment * 1st Battalion ** Battalion Staff ** 1st Company ** 2nd Company ** 3rd Company ** 4th Company ** Non-Combatant Company (Medics, Transport, Supply etc.) * 2nd Battalion (Same as 1st) * 3rd Battalion (Same as 1st) * 4th Battalion (Same as 1st) * Machine-Gun Detachment * 1st Line Transport Group * 2nd Line Transport Group After Revolution By 1918 the both regiments were disbanded following the February Revolution. During the Russian Civil War, the regiment was continued as part of the 2nd Guards Combined Regiment and later the Combined Life Guards Regiment. By 1951 the regiment had a small association of emigres. Commanders Commanders-in-Chief * 1857—1905 Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich * 1905—1917 Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich Regimental Commanders * 1856—1859 Colonel Prince Anatoly Ivanovich Baryatinsky * 1859—1860 Major General Nikolay Nikolaevich Veliyaminov (Temporary) * 1860—1865 Major General Nikolay Evstafevich Baranov (Temporary) * 1865—1869 Colonel Andrei Mikhailovich Weintraub * 1869—1874 Major General Eduard Vasilyevich von Armmondt * 1874—1876 Colonel Prince Nikolay Nikolayevich Obolensky * 1876—1877 Major General Konstantin Konstantovich Schmidt * 1877—1877 Colonel Oscar-Ferfinand Kazimirovich Grippenberg * 1877—1878 Colonel Jeremiy Karlovich Tenner * 1878—1884 Colonel Richard Troyanovich von Meves * 1884—1891 Major General Nikolai Dmitrievich Skaryatin * 1891—1895 Major General Nikolai Fedorovich Meshetich * 1895—1900 Major General Nikolai Pavlovich, Baron von Asheberg * 1900—1901 Major General Alexander Ragozin * 1901—1901 Colonel Rudolf Rudolfovich Shulman * 1901—1905 Major General Sergey Ivanovich Kutepov * 1905—1913 Major General Peter Alekseevich Delsal (Temporary) * 1913—1914 Major General Dmitry Nikolayevich Pfeifer * 1914—1915 Colonel Dmitry Karlovich Söderholm * 1915—1916 Major General Edward Alexandrovich Vertsinsky * 1916—1916 Colonel Aledxander Anatolyevich Stessel * 1916—1917 Major General Dmitry Sergeevich Vsevolozhsky * 1917—1917 Colonel Nikolay Nagaev * 1917—1918 Captain Sergey Pavlovich Other Information Insignia The regiment's banner was the bade of St. George with the words "In remembrance of the exploits of the Guards". Later in 1878, another sign was added, being "Arab-Konak November 21st 1877". Church The regiment's church was located in Tsarskoye Selo built in 1858 from the battalion's commander Prince Anatoly Ivanovich Baryatinsky. In 1905 the building caught fire, and wasn't rebuilt. Sources * Handbook of the Russian Army in 1914 * Life Guards 2nd Infantry Regiment Tsarskoye Selo [in rus] Category:Regiments of the Imperial Russian Army Category:Rifle Regiments of the Imperial Russian Army Category:Infantry Regiments of the Imperial Russian Army Category:Guards Regiments of the Imperial Russian Army Category:Military units and formations established in 1856 Category:Military units and formations established in 1919 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1918 Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1921